Abercrombie sued over firing of Muslim woman who wore head scarves

Abercrombie & Fitch faces a lawsuit alleging that it fired a Muslim employee at one of its Hollister stores for wearing a head scarf.

Abercrombie & Fitch faces a lawsuit alleging that it fired a Muslim employee at one of its Hollister stores for wearing a head scarf.

The lawsuit filed today by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says that 19-year-old Umme-Hani Khan started working at the Hollister store in San Mateo, Calif., in October 2009. Khan, who worked mainly in the stockroom, was asked to wear head scarves only in Hollister colors.

However, in February 2010, she was told that her scarf, or hijab, violated Abercrombie's employee dress code, and she was fired her for refusing to remove it.

"Ms. Khan held a low-visibility position, willingly color-coordinated her head scarf with the store's brand and capably performed her stockroom duties for four and half months until a visiting manager flagged her hijab as a violation of their 'look policy,'" said Michael Baldonado, director of the federal anti-discrimination agency's San Francisco District, in a statement.

Abercrombie said it did nothing wrong.

"We comply with the law regarding reasonable religious accommodation, and we will continue to do so," said Abercrombie's general counsel, Ronald A. "Rocky" Robins Jr., in a statement.